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In it for the long haul: A model for long-term free software campaigns

What is your favorite FSF campaign?
How long has it been around, and when was the last time you heard
about a victory in that area of the FSF's work? These questions came
to mind as I begin to integrate the recommendations of the High
Priority Projects (HPP) committee, and it got me thinking about how
our three-person campaigns team can evaluate and sustain long-term
free software activism. See for the committee's
analysis, and for the list.

The HPP campaign launched in 2005 to foster work on projects that are
important for increasing the adoption and use of free software. For
the first few years, the list was maintained by FSF staff and board
members, based on our own research and on feedback occasionally sent
in by interested people. In 2014, we formed a committee of free
software community leaders, who have done the work of reevaluating and
refining the list based on suggestions from the free software
community, the changing landscape of software and hardware (and
consequently, of restrictions on computer user freedom), and the
achievements and failures of projects. The
most recent revision, which is currently underway, includes the
introduction of four criteria that define what needs are important for
the list.

But how can we maximize the usefulness of this list – or any of our
campaigns? In the case of this campaign, we have identified projects
that are critical to the advancement and adoption of free
software. But if nobody steps up to work on these projects, if nobody
hears about them, they will never get done. The campaigns team helps
by acting as a project manager for the committee, publicizing the
list, recommending ways the community can help get the work done,
celebrating victories, and reevaluating the work regularly –
essentially, we must continue our advocacy indefinitely.

How exhausting! No wonder activists suffer from burnout. And we cannot
stop until we have achieved a world where all software is free.

So, how do we keep up our momentum in a years-long effort like the HPP
list? Here are a few thoughts:

Small wins add up over time. The aims of the HPP list are impossible
to achieve in one fell swoop, but over time we can chip away at them,
bit by bit. Once we have updated the list, we will be sure to
celebrate progress made toward the fulfillment of any of these High
Priorities. You will hear about it on fsf.org, in the Free
Software Supporter, on social media sites, and in the press.

Revisit and challenge. The list has been revised several times –
extensively, in the most recent round. This is because software has
changed – and the world's needs have changed. At one point, Flash
dominated the Web, so the list recommended a Flash replacement – now
we are focused on free phones, decentralization, and other issues. By
revisiting the project regularly – and soliciting ideas from the
community when we do – we keep the work relevant.

Patience and perseverance. If we fail, what do we do? We can start by
reevaluating the project. But it may be that we simply need to try
again. When change is truly important, actions that energize people
can benefit from their failure by observing what went wrong, and what
might be needed to lead to success next time. Some people at the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) were dismissive of our campaign calling for
selfies against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) on the Web – but
it got their attention and led to conversation in the press and
between the W3C and our movement – conversation that those who favor
DRM would prefer to avoid.

Celebrate and share your successes. When an HPP need is met, we will
announce to you and the rest of the world about it. And we will
celebrate you when you help. To keep up motivation, we will share
conversations with the people who are working hard to help check a
priority free software project off the list. We will also be clear
about how you can help – whether that is through coding, testing and
bug reports, documentation, advocacy, or funding.

This is the kind of work the FSF campaigns team facilitates and
champions. We've had some successes along the way: Six years ago, we
recommended CiviCRM, because it met the
requirements of the HPP need for a fully featured donor and contact
management system for nonprofits. More recently, we announced that the
GNU PDF project was completed, thanks to libpoppler's ability to
support newer
PDF features like annotations and forms.

Wins like these add up, but we cannot do it alone. Everybody in the
free software community can help make the world more free by
participating in our campaigns – check out all of our campaigns for ways to help.